Jim the Mighty
In the year 4E467, the inhabitants of Celtanus were shocked as, suddenly, a new planet appeared in the sky, closer than the orbit of the moon. This event had a number of lasting repercussions, one of the most obvious being the cooling of the planet, and the devastation of sea trade as the tides grew unstable. The cause of this strange occurrence is not yet known, and many look towards the Halls of the Five as a possible cause. The dwarves were the first to name this planet, referring to it as Jim the Mighty, patron of above-ground warfare. The following is an excerpt from a rather large katydid from the Hall of the Five: "Atop a stone shrine tower erected by some titan long ago in the cradle of Liosa, the man named Rucahn stares straight into the night sky. The burden of omniscience was so great that he could no longer see into the future as he once could—only one or two minutes ahead instead of hundreds of years. There was simply too much information in the present to take in. He had tried to filter it out when he first ascended to this level of power, but he had learned that was the wrong approach—the actual physical pain he had endured during that adjustment phase still lingered. His consciousness now floats freely on the surface of a billowing, endless sea of information, occasionally being sucked under and overwhelmed, and occasionally delving down to explore the waters of his own free will. Kellus flies down from a giant raven, lighting on the roof and walking up alongside his former student. He is silent for a bit. “Rucahn.” “You are worried about me. You think that my mental state is declining as a result of my newly-acquired power. You see that I am abandoning my daughter. You have found out that I have aided the Derultians in constructing a spy network that encompasses large portions of this continent, compromising our national security.” Kellus in truth is still astounded at the last action, even though he has given himself time to cope with it. He has yet to tell the others of Rucahn’s seeming betrayal. The Alterer peers down over the edge of the tower. Hundreds of thousands of white wildflowers dot the deserted, windblown prairie below. “You were always such a… such a wild card, man. I don’t even know if I can trust you anymore after this,” he says. Rucahn speaks, his tone somewhat detached but with a hint of admonishment. “That is a lie. You have known for some time that I could not be trusted. You have known that since before I attained a state of all-knowing. My willingness to act in preparation for the far future has made me a liability in your eyes.” This is true, Kellus thinks, although he hates to admit it to his friend. There is silence for another poignant moment. “You are thinking of imprisoning me in the labyrinth. You wish to do this for the good of the others.” Kellus chokes up a bit and puts his face in his hands, slumping down into a sitting position. Rucahn counts in his head. Sixteen seconds. Back when the Inquirer was able to see into the future, he had looked at this night on the tower hundreds of times in his head. He is only just now experiencing it. But the future was so dark, now, obscured by the constant inflow of present knowledge hammered into his consciousness. Ten seconds. “Kellus.” The Alterer sniffs. “What is it, Rucahn?” “I need you to stop crying and look up at the sky. ” Six seconds. “Kellus, this is important.” The mage silently stands up. His eyes are still noticeably moist. Rucahn points to a black patch of night ringed by white pinprick stars. A constellation—the Diadem of Ahazor. “What am I looking for?” he asks, squinting. In that instant, the constellation is obscured by something, something red and vast that eats up the sky. Kellus draws back in shock. There is an entirely new planet in the sky that, one second ago, was not there before—smaller than Celtanus, but much closer than the distant moon. Rucahn looks through the eyes of an Ashik across the world and watches as day turns to night in an instant. He hears the screams of sailors on the docks in Legaros as the tides rise up and the waters roil violently. He hears the plate that Garma drops crack into a hundred pieces on the marble floor. Kellus’s face shows fear and bewilderment, but also a trace of wonder. Rucahn speaks again. “If you still wish to imprison me in light of this new development, I can be found at my castle every day between the hours of noon and four in the evening." The Inquirer levitates up over the walls of the tower and flies off into the night." Category:Nationbuilder IV: Celtanus